Woman Jumps from Moving Car to Escape from North Branford Man: Middletown Police

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A woman jumped out of a speeding car to get away from her boyfriend, who she said had attacked her during an argument about her cheating on him, according to Middletown Police.

Thomas A. Michaud, 31, of North Branford, was arrested in connection to the incident after police spotted him standing nearby while EMTs were attending to the victim, according to the police report.

Middletown Police responded to Reservoir Road at about 5:17 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 on the report of a female with injuries from a domestic incident.

The victim told police that she had just been attacked by her boyfriend, Michaud, who had picked her up at her house and immediately started arguing with her about her cheating on him with someone.

The victim said she tried to get out of the vehicle and go back inside, but Michaud grabbed onto her jacket against her will and wouldn’t let her get out, according to the police report.

She told police that Michaud then drove off and was yelling at her the entire time. She also said that Michaud threatened to hit her and then swung and hit her in the face.

The victim told police that she balled herself up and tried to stay as close to the door as possible so he couldn’t hit her again.

Michaud then turned onto Reservoir Road and is accused of telling the victim he was taking her to be jumped by a group of people, according to the police report.

As they were approaching a stop sign, the victim made the decision to jump out of the vehicle to get away from Michaud, who then drove away.

The victim told police that the vehicle was traveling at about 50 mph when she jumped out.

The victim had significant visible injuries, police wrote in the report. She was bleeding below her knee and had several scrapes and cuts from the pavement. Police also observed blood on her wrist and more cuts and scrapes.

She was transported to Hartford Hospital for treatment.

While the victim was being placed into the back of the ambulance, a police officer observed a man standing by the fire truck that was parked on the street.

The officer asked the man how he was doing and he immediately said “she jumped out of the car for no reason,” according to the report. The officer then realized that he was talking to Michaud, who said that he confronted the victim about cheating on him and they were arguing but claimed that he never put his hands on her.

Michaud told police that she jumped out of the car because she was worried about his past. Asked to explain, Michaud said that she must have been thinking about all the things he had done in his past and decided to jump out of the car, according to the police report.

Michaud also said that he had never grabbed onto the victim’s jacket, according to the report.

Michaud, of Edward Road in North Branford, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and second-degree unlawful restraint. He was held on a $25,000 surety bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17.

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